Fat Lady Sings – Technip & FMC Now TechnipFMC
In May, U.S.-based oilfield services company FMC Technologies announced they will merge with their much larger quasi-competitor, France-based Technip, in an all-stock deal that will create a new company called TechnipFMC worth $13 billion (see FMC Technologies & Technip to Merge, Create $13B Oilfield Giant). FMC had/has some operations in the Marcellus/Utica, hence the merger has implications for our region. The Obama Dept. of Justice approved the deal in June (see FMC Technologies/Technip Merger Approved by Obama DOJ/FTC). Apparently it’s A.O.K. for a French company to buy an American company, but when one American company (Halliburton) wanted to buy another (Baker Hughes), that wasn’t OK with the Obamadroids (see Obama DOJ Kills Halliburton/Baker Hughes Merger, Deal “Terminated”). But we digress. Following months filling out “Mother May I?” forms, the deal is now done. Yesterday the two companies consummated their merger and the former Technip and FMC Technologies have now become TechnipFMC…
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In October EQT announced a deal to buy Trans Energy, Inc., a public pure-play driller in the Marcellus in West Virginia, which will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of EQT (see 
A kerfuffle erupted yesterday when Chapter IV Investors, a Charlotte, NC-based investment firm with investments in EQT, Range Resources and Antero Resources, announced it had sent a letter to EQT urging the company to consider merging with either Range Resources or Antero Resources. Chapter IV, which is essentially two big-money investors (W. Barnes Hauptfuhrer, Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager, and Ryan J. Jack, Partner), does not own enough stock in any of the companies (less than 1% in each) to throw its weight around like a corporate raider. Rather, it appears to be two investors attempting to grab the attention of these companies and their shareholders by issuing a press release (full copy below) with a plan they say would create a new Marcellus/Utica driller worth more than $25 billion. Obviously the value of investments for Chapter IV would go up under such a scenario–so there is self-interest at work here. However, we don’t detect any kind of bullying on the part of Chapter IV, like that of a raider Carl Icahn (successful takeover of Chesapeake Energy & Cheniere Energy) or Keith “Mini-Me” Meister (unsuccessful attempt to takeover Williams). Rather, it appears to be a couple of investors who believe there is an honest and good case for a combination of EQT with another company, and were willing to spend $500 on a press release to make their case. Are they right?…
Seventy Seven Energy (SSE) is the former Chesapeake Oilfield Operating company, the oilfield services subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy that Chessy spun out into its own company in July 2014 after it couldn’t find anyone to buy it (see 
Extreme Plastics Plus (EPP) has been manufacturing and installing well pad liners since 2007. Pad liners protect the ground from accidental spills of frack wastewater and chemicals used during the drilling process. Located in Fairmont, WV, EPP’s customers are in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region. In order to expand, EPP raised an undisclosed amount of investment money from Hastings Equity Partners in 2013 (see 
Word has leaked out that WGL Holdings, the umbrella company that owns Washington (DC) Gas Light Company and WGL Midstream, is considering selling itself to utility giant (and Spanish-based) Iberdrola. The deal, if it happens, has implications for the Marcellus. Earlier this month MDN reported that WGL Midstream, which already is a 7% owner in the Mountain Valley Pipeline project, had upped its ownership stake to 10% (see 
In May, U.S.-based oilfield services company FMC Technologies announced they will merge with their much larger quasi-competitor, France-based Technip, in an all-stock deal that will create a new company called TechnipFMC worth $13 billion (see 
Not even a year go–in December of last year–one of the biggest and brightest stars in the midstream firmament for the Marcellus/Utica, MarkWest Energy, sold itself to Marathon Petroleum (see 
TransCanada wants all of Columbia Pipeline–and they want it real bad. Canadian-based TransCanada, famously known for wanting to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast, didn’t want to be left out of the most important midstream story of the century, so they bought Columbia Pipeline Group–closing on the sale in July (see